Crew, Union To Raise Autism Awareness

Saturday

Apr 6, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 6, 2013 at 2:17 PM

A cause close to Mike Lapper's heart will be close to the Crew's feet this afternoon.

When the Crew and Philadelphia meet today at 5 p.m., players from both teams will be wearing special shoelaces to support Autism Awareness Month. For Lapper, one of the Crew's assistant coaches, the gesture means more because his five-year-old son, Tyler, is autistic.

A cause close to Mike Lapper’s heart will be close to the Crew’s feet this afternoon.

When the Crew and Philadelphia meet today at 5 p.m., players from both teams will be wearing special shoelaces to support Autism Awareness Month. For Lapper, one of the Crew’s assistant coaches, the gesture means more because his five-year-old son, Tyler, is autistic.

“There’s so many different levels on the spectrum,” Lapper said. “It’s just amazing to me how many people are affected by it: one out of 54 boys. I didn’t know those stats before, until my son had autism. When something affects you and hits home like that, you obviously start paying a little more attention to it and give it the attention that you probably should have before.”

The process started last season, when the Crew went to Philadelphia for a mid-April match. The Union’s head coach, John Hackworth, has an autistic son Keaton, and the club hosted an awareness event during the match.

“Ironically enough it was us who were playing against them,” Lapper said. “They had a big thing with puzzle pieces in the audience and people holding them up, and the shoelaces and wristbands and stuff.”

The experience made Lapper want to try and bring a similar event back to Columbus. Today’s shoelaces are the start of what he hopes will grow into something bigger down the road.

“I’m really hoping that this takes off and is going to serve as a benchmark and that we’re going to grow it,” he said. “My hope is that maybe we can do something at the stadium, maybe we can do some kind of clinic. I think there’s a lot of potential there. I want to get through this weekend and then while the wheels are turning I want to hit it hard and see what we can do maybe this summer and for sure next year. I think there’s a lot of potential there.”

Yesterday, midfielder Eddie Gaven wore the laces during training to get a feel for them.

“I think it’s a great cause,” he said. “I’m very happy to do my little part to help out and create some awareness. I think most guys on the team are going to try and wear them and hopefully it raises more awareness for it and we can help out in our own small way.”

“The guys have been fantastic and really receptive to wearing the shoelaces,” Lapper said. “I understand that your cleats are the tools of your trade, so to change those shoelaces means a lot for a soccer player. In turn, it means a lot for their commitment to helping this cause. It’s just bringing awareness to autism and how impactful it can be for the players.

“It’s bringing the attention that it needs and hopefully more awareness and everything else will fall into place.”